FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NATHAN DEMPSEY - PAGE 2

In a league with coaches who are almost disdainful of offense, playing teams such as Edmonton and Vancouver, the Blackhawks' opponent Thursday, can be a breath of fresh air. The Oilers and Canucks play the game with an emphasis on speed and offense. With so many teams slogging through defensive taffy pulls, Hawks defenseman Nathan Dempsey said fast-paced teams can catch people off guard with their no-holds-barred approach. MAKING A MOVE? GM Bob Pulford was in Sunrise, Fla., to watch the Panthers-Islanders game Wednesday and was spotted talking to Florida GM-coach Rick Dudley.

If nothing else, Friday's signing of free-agent defenseman Bryan Berard showed that Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford isn't going to stand pat. "It's always great as a player when management does things to try to improve the team," goaltender Jocelyn Thibault said. "I think it's a great move." . . . Defenseman Jason Strudwick didn't make the trip and will have an MRI on his injured wrist. Strudwick will not play Sunday against Anaheim. . . . Assistant coach Al MacAdam left the team to be with his ailing mother.

Road wins are rare for the Hawks, especially against quality opponents, but a three-goal burst in the second period carried them to a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs. Ex-Leafs Steve Sullivan, Nathan Dempsey and Bryan Berard scored against their former team, and Craig Anderson made 43 saves for the Hawks, winners of just 2 of their last 22 road games. Sullivan, who has been on a hot streak, also had two assists for the Hawks. He now has five points in the last two games and leads the Hawks with 27 assists and 41 points.

It was hard to tell the team that had something to play for Thursday night from the team playing out the string. The St. Louis Blues are still fighting for home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series but played as if their fate was long decided in a 6-4 loss to the Blackhawks. The Hawks' fate has been decided for weeks, but they held off a late St. Louis charge as rookie goalie Michael Leighton earned his first career NHL victory, making 41 saves. Nathan Dempsey and Chris Simon each scored a pair of goals.

Opportunities like the one that presented itself Thursday night will be few and far between from now until April 6 for the Blackhawks. With a chance to move to within two points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Hawks dropped their fourth straight game at home--2-1 to Phoenix before an announced crowd of 12,543--and ran their home winless streak to six games. The Hawks haven't won a home game since beating Detroit on Jan. 15. "Time is running out," defenseman Steve Poapst said.

About 20 minutes before Tuesday's trading deadline, Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford sent his second-highest-paid player, $3.1 million defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev, to the New York Islanders for a fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft. "He's a decent player, but he's hurt all the time, and everybody knows it," Pulford said. "We were fortunate to get what we got." Karpovtsev has played in 24 games this season. Considered one of the NHL's best shot blockers, he underwent surgery to remove bone chips in his ankle after blocking a shot Nov. 16 against San Jose.

If there's a team that can't get to the Olympic break quickly enough, it's the Blackhawks' Saturday opponent. The Los Angeles Kings once were challenging Dallas for the Pacific Division lead, climbing a season-high 13 games over .500 in early January. But since then the Kings are 3-9-3 and in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. "Mentally, it's been draining. We haven't played well the last 15 games," Kings center Craig Conroy said. "Just to get a break and get away from the rink and regroup will help."

The attention the crowd paid to Theo Fleury on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden lasted about a New York minute. A mixture of boos and cheers greeted Fleury when he took the ice in warmups, and there were more boos than cheers after he scored the opening goal of the game. But after that there was mostly indifference as the Blackhawks opened a three-goal lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Fleury scored his third goal in four games, but it was Eric Daze, Nathan Dempsey and Jocelyn Thibault who were the thorn in the side of the Rangers before a sellout crowd of 18,200.

Injured winger Eric Daze had his back examined Tuesday at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Results of the examination were not released, but Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford said he will meet Wednesday with Daze and doctors to discuss the diagnosis. Pulford said Sunday the first diagnosis was for Daze to have another surgery--which would be the third of his career and second in two years--on a herniated disc. . . . Hawks coach Brian Sutter said whatever is decided for Daze, it should be based on Daze's overall health and not just on playing hockey.